Baseball Hall of Famer and former home run king Hank Aaron recently came out in support of the comments made by Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James, whose house was vandalized last week.
Aaron’s comments came after a racist remark was found written outside James’ home in Los Angeles. Commenting on the reason for the vandalism, James explained that African-Americans still face racism regardless of fame or fortune.
“I can understand what LeBron is saying, because I felt the same way that he does,” Aaron told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “As I got older I was able to deal with it a little bit better. But I would go home at night and say, ‘what did I do wrong?'”
Aaron’s success in Major League Baseball brought about a consistent stream of racist threats, especially as he became one of the game’s most feared home run hitters.
Despite the support from the former Atlanta Braves great, James’ remarks came under criticism from some media members, for comparing the racist remark to the killing of African-American Emmitt Till. Despite the clear racial motivation of Till’s death in 1955, his killers were acquitted of all charges.
Fox Sports 1 personality Jason Whitlock declared that because James is wealthy, he cannot claim victimhood and James’ analogy to Till is foolish.
My skin is not different. My situation is and so is yours. Spray paint is nowhere near Emmett Till. Foolish analogy by LeBron. https://t.co/Kt2JzEn3hw
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) June 2, 2017
One unlikely criticism came from Andrew Young, a noted civil rights activist and former mayor of Atlanta. Young argued that James should realize that his wealth and status, not his race, are his burden.
Game 3 of the NBA Finals occurs Wednesday at 9 p.m. on ABC.